Athens, Ohio – The West Liberty University men's and women's track & field team posted a pair of top-5 team finishes on Saturday at the Cherry Blossom Invitational, hosted by Ohio University, as the men's program earned second place with 106 points while the women's program was fourth with 71 points. Helping pace the teams to their finishes was a combined 53 top-10 finishes, with 28 by the men's team and 25 by the women's. Additionally, the men saw both Jordyn Dickerson (discus) and Mikhi Anderson (110m hurdles) earn wins in their events while Sierra Lanham notched a victory in the long jump for the women. Also, in action for the Hilltopper track & field teams this weekend was the first day of competition for distance runners at the Bison Outdoor Classic hosted by Bucknell University.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – WLU MEN'S TRACK & FIELD (BISON OUTDOOR CLASSIC)

• In the unseeded 1,500m run, Philip White ran to a time of 4:13.69 for a 12^th place finish in his heat and 74^th overall.
• Robert Allen ran to a time of 15:22.90 in the 5,000m run, finishing 30^th in his heat and 92^nd overall.

HOW IT HAPPENED – WLU MEN'S TRACK & FIELD (CHERRY BLOSSOM INVITATIONAL)

• The 4x100m relay team of Nathan Baker, Mikhi Anderson, Arthur Williams, and Lorenzo Ferrera ran to a season-best time of 42.01 for a second place finish in the event.
• Brody Cermak ran to a career-best time of 4:19.13 in the 1,500m run, finishing 26^th in the event. He was joined in the meet by Jonathan Stout who recorded a time of 4:47.12 for a 38^th place finish.
• The Hilltoppers took two of the top-3 places in the 110m hurdles as Anderson won the race with a time of 14.78 and Dorde Donovic was third as he crossed the line in a time of 15.46.
• Williams rounded out the top-10 of the 400m dash as he posted a time of 51.65, while Malachi Stewart and Jacob Huffman both ran to career-best times of 57.61 and 58.63 respectively for 16^th and 17^th place.
•  Notching third and fourth place finishes in the 100m dash was Ferrera and Baker with times of 11.17 and 11.22 respectively.
• Sitting just outside of the top-10 in the 800m run was Jasper Brown and Cermak with times of 2:02.58 and 2:05.47 for a 12^th and 13^th place finish respectively.
• Ferrera collected another top-5 finish on the day as he ran to a second place time of 22.43 in the 200m dash. He was joined by Williams and Baker who rounded out the top-10 in ninth and tenth place with times of 23.02 and 23.11.
• Posting a fourth place finish with a time of 3:34.45 was the 4x400 relay team of Williams, Ferrera, Baker, and Anderson. Also in the event was the team of JD Henderson, Stewart, Stout, and Huffman who ran to a tenth place finish and time of 3:57.84.
• Leading the way for four Hilltoppers inside the top-10 of the long jump was Anderson with a third place mark of 6.50m (21' 4"). Joining him was Quinn Ashbrook in fifth with a jump of 6.30m (20' 8"), Brijaun Baylor in seventh with a jump of 6.20m (20' 4"), and Daminn Cunningham in ninth with a jump of 5.96m (19' 6.75").
• Ashbrook earned a second place finish in the triple jump with a career-best mark of 13.04m (42' 9.5"), while Baylor was fifth with a jump of 12.08m (39' 7.5"), AJ Cherico was eighth with a jump of 11.63m (38' 1.75"), and Henderson was ninth with a jump of 10.44m (34' 3").
• Competing unattached for WLU was Reese Burnside who finished second in the pole vault with a mark of 4.65m (15' 3"). Julius Hobbs posted a fourth place finish in the event with a clearance of 4.05m (13' 3.5").
• Cunningham led a group of four Hilltoppers inside the top-10 of the high jump with a mark of 1.95m (6' 4.75") for second place. He was joined by Ethan Furbee with a third place mark of 1.85m (6' 0.75"), Dorde Donovic with a fifth place jump of 1.85m (6' 0.75"), and Henderson with an eighth place jump of 1.60m (5' 3").
• John Brown recorded a fifth place finish in the hammer throw with a mark of 47.52m (155' 11"), while Joshua Fancher was 12^th with a mark of 42.03m (137' 11").
• Fancher earned second place finish in the shot put with a throw of 15.25m (50' 0.5") while Jordyn Dickerson was just outside of the top-10 in 11^th with a mark of 13.04m (42' 9.5").
• Dickerson won the discus throw with a career-best mark of 43.14m (141' 6").
• Aidan Horan recorded a seventh place finish in the javelin throw with a career-best mark of 37.35m (122' 6") while Stewart was just outside of the top-10 with a career-best mark of 31.88m (104' 7").

HOW IT HAPPENED – WLU WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD (CHERRY BLOSSOM INVITATIONAL)

• Emma Flynn ran to a career-best time of 13:19.04 and a fourth place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase.
• The 4x100m relay team of Ky'Ara Ross, Abbe Stackpole, Madison Cadle, and Sierra Lanham ran to a season-best time of 48.03 for a third place finish in the event.
• Led by Marissa Scott with a 100m hurdles time of 16.16 for a third place finish, a total of three Hilltoppers placed within the top-10 of the event. Joining her was Zayne Brakeall with a time of 17.47 and Hope Gestl with a time of 17.84 for seventh and eighth place respectively.
• Brookelyn Reynolds cracked the top-10 in the 400m dash, crossing the finish line in a time of 1:02.15.
• Running to second and third place finishes in the 100m dash was Lanham and Ross who recorded times of 12.60 and 12.77 respectively. Also cracking the top-10 was Stackpole in seventh with a time of 13.11 and Cadle with a time of 13.20 for a tie for ninth.
• Lacey Dimit ran to a time of 2:25.80 for a 14^th place finish in the 800m run.
• Gestl earned a fourth place finish in the 400m hurdles as she crossed the line in a career-best time of 1:12.47.
• Lanham led a group of four Hilltoppers in the 200m dash as she posted a career-best time of 25.77 for a ninth place finish. Joining her in the event was Reynolds in 14^th (26.58), Ross in 17^th (26.69), Cadle in 21^st (27.01), and Stackpole in 22^nd (27.04). Reynolds' time in the event was also a new career-best.
• Running to a fourth place finish and season-best time of 4:22.41 was the 4x400m relay team of Stackpole, Gestl, Dimit, and Reynolds.
• Lanham and Ross recorded a one-two finish in the long jump with marks of 5.56m (18' 3") and 5.41m (17' 9") respectively. Also competing in the event was Lauren Wyatt who recorded a jump of 4.92m (16' 1.75") for ninth place.
• Scott and Brakeall rounded out the top-10 of the pole vault by clearing marks of 2.30m (7' 6.5") and 2.15m (7' 0.75") respectively for ninth and tenth place. Brakeall's pole vault jump was a new career-best mark.
• Kennedy Martin and Sierra Davis earned a pair of top-10 finishes in the shot put, posting fourth and sixth place marks of 11.90m (39' 0.5") and 11.57m (37' 11.5") respectively. Davis's throw was a new career-best mark in the event.
• Adriana Fazzini posted the highest finish by a Hilltopper in the discus as she finished fourth with a career-best throw of 41.67m (136' 9") while Davis and Martin finished sixth and seventh with throws of 40.50m (132' 10") and 39.38m (129' 2") respectively.
• Fazzini and Brakeall earned eighth and tenth place finishes in the javelin throw as they recorded marks of 26.05m (85' 6") and 22.70m (74' 6"). Fazzini's throw in the event was a new career-best mark.

UP NEXT
The West Liberty distance runners will conclude the weekend with the final day of competition at the Bison Outdoor Classic on Saturday, starting at 10:30 a.m. in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.